System and apparatus enabling conversation between audience and broadcast or live-streamed media

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a system, method and apparatus for opinion polling of broadcast or live streamed media. The scalable system enables real time analysis and display of continuously updated audience opinion data. A computing device with a touchscreen may be used to input personal opinion, view program content, and observe compiled audience reaction, simultaneously. Content and reaction may also be viewed separately. Granularity of data is substantially improved as is nuanced comprehension of responses. Iterative opinion input is enabled, in both numerical rating and textual comment. Unsolicited, top-of-mind audience reaction is accomodated while latency is reduced to a near conversational level. A rich consumer data base may be correlated to opinion. The apparatus enabling system function communicates tactilly to the user the opinion being output by the device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. non-provisional applicationSer. No. 14/788,568, filed Jun. 30, 2015, the contents of which areherein incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The system and apparatus described herein relates to the field ofmultimedia programming, more particularly, to the field of voting andpolling during live multimedia programming.

BACKGROUND

Many efforts have been made to enable audience feedback to broadcast andentertainment industry programming, to evaluate consumer reaction andopinion of the content. Industry and academic researchers have devisedschemes to monitor and analyze audience reaction. Results are typicallydescribed as feedback, the essential first step in gauging consumerattitude, but not close to describing the cultural ambiance. While themonitoring may be in real-time, the analysis is usually after the fact.The data collected is generally opaque, and lacks diversity and control.

In Hollywood, The Preview House shows new films and TV pilots to ahundred or more invitees, to gauge their reaction before a film orprogram is finally edited or released. In some cases, alternate scenesor endings are tested in an attempt to tune the production to theviewers' tastes. Here, participants sit in luxury seating with a“joystick” input device built into the armrest. Data are compiled andmay be viewed in real-time or stored and analyzed later, althoughresulting sample size and diversity limit comprehension. You may havedetermined whether a scene is liked or disliked, but not the insight toknow why or how to fix it.

In June, 2014, CNBC launched a program enabling real-time viewer pollingwith on-screen display of results during the discussion, a significantstep forward in audience communication and feedback. The audience isdirected to a website to vote yes or no on the issue being discussed.Running results are tabulated and displayed live, in percentage terms.Now, sample sizes may be substantial, and a measure of audienceinteraction is introduced in that participants can view the runningdisplay of results.

There remains a need in the art for an apparatus and system that cangather opinion information from multimedia viewers that does notinterrupt their viewing experience without producing excessive noise,annoyance, or demanding excessive visual attention.

More broadly, with the present invention, it is possible to gather andaggregate national or regional audience input, display the data as partof the broadcast content, discuss and analyze results with the audience,question the audience further in detail, offer additional argument andeven persuasion, all in real-time. In other words, a broadcaster mayhave a conversation with a national audience—with the intimacy of afocus group. Of additional benefit is the rich data base generated byparticipant registration, and data tabulated on multiple dimensions:geographic, demographic and socioeconomic.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A user interface for live opinion polling includes a computing devicewith a touchscreen, of any size from a laptop to a smartphone. Atelevision may also be required, if the program content is broadcastonly, and not livestreamed to the device. The touchscreen may include agraphical user interface for producing graphic display on thetouchscreen and utilizes a digital slide switch (FIG. 1) for highlygranular user input transmitted to the content provider. It alsodisplays the mean and distribution of opinions of all participatingviewers, as compiled and rebroadcast or streamed by the content provideralong with the live program. The user interface device further includesa feedback generator that vibrates the device housing based on theprecise numeric value of the users opinion that equates to the positionof an input element (for example, theuser's digit orthumb) on thetouchscreen. This is the tactile sensory, non-visual communicationmedium between the device and the user. In one embodiment, thevibrational feedback is a series of pulses wherein a unique pattern ofpulses corresponds to a specific numeric value, so the user can “feel”the output without the distraction of looking away from the content,(FIG. 2). In another embodiment, the vibrational feedback is ofincreasing or decreasing frequency that can be felt or heard, and thatcorresponds to changing the input element position, up or down, as theviewers opinion of the program content varies, (FIG. 3). In anotherembodiment, the vibration stops around the neutral input position, sothe user will “feel” the neutral opinion position, for reference. Thisreplaces the self-centering feature of a mechanical joystick. Thus,tactile sensory feedback is the human factor enabling intuitiveoperation.

The data representing the user's opinion may be transmitted via theplatform continuously or may be sampled at a rate determined by thecontent provider. In one embodiment, transmission may be triggered bychange, or rate of change of data input. Transmission may also bepushed, or forced by the user. In this embodiment, an enthusiastic usermay vote repeatedly, or “Send Again”, by lifting the digit from thetouchscreen. This action saves the last value (opinion) for a shorttime, and transmits that value again every time the touchscreen istapped.

To be clear, the stream of opinion data transmitted by all participantsto a content provider using the system, is compiled and manipulated bythe content provider and retransmitted (e.g. broadcast nationally) alongwith program content. Thus, the depiction embodied in FIG. 4 is typicalof what all television viewers would see, not just on participants'devices. This acts as an incentive for viewers to participate. It alsorewards participants with entertaining hardware, enlightening real-timegraphics, the satisfaction of voicing their opinion.

System displays depicted in FIG. 4 show history and current mean opinionof participating viewers. The latter rewards users with the ability tocompare their opinion with others'. They may also attempt to influencethe overall result with the Send Again feature. Another display showsthe distribution of user opinion across the rating scale and uniquelyupdates the display dynamically in real time as user opinion data isreceived or updated in response to changing opinion.

FIG. 8 depicts a sample wordcloud, a separate display. The inventionuniquely employs a wordcloud to elicit and organize independent usercomments online. Users submit a word or short phrase, the systemprocesses the data, and generates a unique wordcloud in near-realtime.This allows perhaps thousands of comments to be analized andconsolidated in seconds. If the program is a traditional commercialbroadcast, the host may request comments before a commercial break. Thewordcloud is generated during the break, then displayed and discussedwhen the program resumes. In a unique embodiment, the wordcloud mayoperate throughout an entire segment and may even be updated in realtime as participants, again attempt to influence the result. Theinvention uniquely empowers the audience to choose the issue it wants todiscuss.

FIG. 9 illustrates the flow of data within the system. The systemuniquely enables acquisition of opinion data from a large audience,dynamic display of the data in real time, and iterative opinion input inresponse to evaluation of that data. To accommodate data volume, userpersonal data is handled separately from user opinion data. Personaldata may be sourced manually, or automatically at peak and troughopinion based on rate of change of input. For economy of data handling,“snapshots” of pertinent data may be stored for future reference.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a computing device for liveopinion polling includes a touchscreen; a division of the touchscreeninto a plurality of zones; and a haptic generator that provides avibrational feedback to said computing device to discriminate each zoneof the plurality of zones in tactile communication with a user.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the computing mayinclude wherein each tactile communication of the input element to thetouchscreen is defined by a contact point.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the computing deviceof above includes wherein the vibrational feedback is a unique vibrationthat corresponds to each zone of the plurality of zones.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the computing deviceof above includes wherein the vibrational feedback is a series ofpulses, wherein the series of pulses comprises a unique pulse patternassociated with each zone of the plurality of zones.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the computing deviceof above includes wherein the plurality of zones comprises four zones: afirst zone, a second zone, a third zone, and a fourth zone.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the computing deviceof above includes wherein the series of pulses comprises: one shortpulse associated with the first zone, two short pulses associated withthe second zone, three short pulses associated with the third zone, anda single, longer dash shaped pulse associated with the fourth zone.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the computing deviceof above includes wherein the plurality of zones define a numeric ratingscale, wherein the first zone has the lowest numeric rating and thenumeric rating scale progressively increases along or up the touchscreenin the direction of the fourth zone.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, computing device ofabove includes wherein the vibrational feedback is a ramped vibration,wherein the frequency of the ramped vibration increases continuouslywhen the contact point moves toward a zone of a higher numeric rating,and wherein the frequency of the ramped vibration decreases continuouslywhen the contact point moves toward a zone of a lower numeric rating.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the computing deviceof above includes wherein the ramped vibration system provides a neutralzone wherein the frequency is approximately zero.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the computing deviceof above includes wherein the first zone is associated with a numericrating scale ranging from approximately 0.0 to approximately 1.0,wherein the second zone is associated with a numeric rating scaleranging from approximately 1.0 to approximately 2.0, wherein the thirdzone is associated with a numeric rating scale ranging fromapproximately 2.0 to approximately 3.0, and wherein the fourth zone isassociated with a numeric rating scale ranging from approximately 3.0 toapproximately 4.0.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the computing deviceof above includes wherein the neutral zone is associated with a ratingscale ranging from approximately 2.3 to approximately 2.7, wherebyconfirming to the user their opinion output.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a smartphone being used as the system's slide switch fordata input, and shows the input zones for the nominal 1 to 5 ratingscale;

FIG. 2 depicts the pulse vibration scheme informing the user of theapproximate rating being output without looking at the screen;

FIG. 3 depicts the ramped vibration scheme with a void denoting thecentral, neutral zone, indicating a neutral opinion;

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of the user interface with allanalytical and graphical features deployed and in use on a tablet;

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 illustrate how different audience opinion profiles canbe, though their mean is the same, informed by the dynamic distributionwindow embodied in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 approximates the appearance of the dynamic distribution when thevolume of incoming user data exceeds restriction of the window;

FIG. 8 depicts an exemplar wordcloud, a graphical display of usertextual opinion sorted by frequency; and

FIG. 9 illustrates the systems flow of opinion data and user personaldata.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The system benefits of the current invention are apparent in multipleprogramming scenarios: news, opinion, debate, game shows andadvertising. A universal template is provided to mix and match featuresand displays, to meet the needs of the content provider (hereafter,alternatively known as broadcaster). With dual-level subscriptions,elementary participant data may be included in broadcaster's primarylicense. A rich database is generated when users wish to input textcomments for wordcloud where the secondary, more detailed registrationis required. This database may be maintained separately on the presentinvention's resident platform and made available to the broadcasterthrough a secondary license. While the present invention is primarilyintended for live streams or broadcasts, it may be used for any contentwith a time stamp.

The present invention may include at least one computing device 10 witha touchscreen 28. Each computing device 10 may include any computerhaving at least one processing unity electronically connected to a formof memory including, but not limited to, a desktop, laptop, and smartdevice 40, such as, a tablet, smart phone, smart watch and the like. Thecomputing device 10 may include a program product including amachine-readable program code for causing, when executed, the computerto perform steps. The program product may include software which mayeither be loaded onto the computer or accessed by the computer. Theloaded software may include an application on the smart device 40. Thesoftware may be accessed by the computer using a web browser. Thecomputer may access the software via the web browser using the internet,extranet, intranet, host server, internet cloud and the like. Thecomputing device 10 may be included on a platform 60 adapted to transmitoutput collected by the touchscreen 28 to a third party, usually thecontent provider, for retransmission.

The touchscreen 28 may include a graphical user interface for producinggraphic and/or visual displays on the touchscreen 28, that a user cancontrol through simple or multi-touch gestures by touching thetouchscreen 28. The computing device 10 may include a haptic generatorthat provides feedback. The feedback may be signals, such as vibrations,and/or properties of signals, such as frequency. The feedback maycorrespond to a contact point of a user's input element 32 on thetouchscreen 28, such as when the user's thumb tactilely communicateswith the touchscreen 28. In other words, the contact point may includethe tactile communication between the touchscreen 28 and the inputelement 32. The feedback may correspond to a relationship between two ormore contact points over a predetermine time. In certain embodiments,the touchscreen 28 may be coupled to the computing device by a housing.

A key component of the present invention's apparatus is the slideswitch, whose unique tactile feedback is enabled by the device's hapticvibration generator. Innovative features and displays further extend andenhance system utility.

FIG. 1 illustrates the slide switch on a smartphone 40 with thetouchscreen 28 divided into five zones: 42, 44, 46, 48, and 50. Thezones denote a numeric rating scale, for instance a nominal 1 to 5rating system, 5 being best. The current rating (output) may bedetermined by a contact point between the input element 32 and thetouchscreen 28. The input element 32 may include a special stylus/pen,at least one of the user's digit, and the like. In actuality, the rangeis 0.1 to 4.9. Whole integers, 0 and 5, are reserved for No and Yesbuttons, (FIG. 4, items 14 and 12, respectively). On this scale themean, 2.5, represents a neutral opinion. The zones 42, 44, 46, 48, and50 may be on an invisible layer on the touchscreen/touchscreen 28 so thecontent is not obscured. In an alternative embodiment, the slide switchcould allow input in two dimentions, vertical and lateral. In thisembodiment, the range would be a map, looking like a target, with thecentral “bulls eye” representing the neutral area around 2.5.

For a smaller device, it is assumed that the input scale may occupy theentire vertical dimension of the touchscreen 28. With a larger devicelike a tablet, the input scale would use only a portion of thetouchscreen 28, due to the ergonomic range of movement of the thumb.After launch, the range of the input scale should be customizable toindividual users. In this embodiment, the natural arc of movement of thethumb defines the input range, makes usage more comfortable, andpersonalizes the application.

The touchscreen 28 may be adapted to transmit to the broadcaster theprecise value of each contact point on the touchscreen 28. (Example:FIG. 4, item 36, user output equals 3.7). To communicate to the user 30the approximate value being output, without looking at the screen, thehaptic generator of the computing device 10 pulses vibrations when theinput element 32 is moved from zone to zone.

FIG. 2 illustrates the pulsing scheme. One short pulse indicatesmovement into first zone 42 (i. e. 1.0). Two short pulses indicatesecond zone 44. Third zone 46 feels like “dot dot dot” in Morse code.Fourth zone 48 feels like “dash” in Morse code (i. e. 4.0). Four hapticelements are judged the maximum tactilely discernible in a pulsingscheme. As a reminder to the user 30, the haptic generator also givesthe appropriate pulse periodically if the input element 32 has not beenmoved for some period of time, perhaps every 10 seconds.

FIG. 3 illustrates a second haptic scheme, a ramped vibration, like ahum. When the user 30 wishes to change opinion (output), he/she movesthe input element 32 in the desired direction along the touchscreen 28.The vibration frequency may increase as the input element 32 movesincreases along the rating scale represented by the division of theplurality of zones along the touchscreen 28, and the frequency decreaseswhen the input element 32 decreases along the same rating scale. Incertain embodiments, the rating scale may be non-numeric, binary scale;for instance, the rating scale may be divided into “Yes” and “No”,wherein the vibration frequency may increase when moving up toward“Yes”, and decrease when moving down toward “No”. No vibration occurswhile the input element 32 is stationary. The ramp vibration system alsoinforms the user of a neutral opinion being communicated to the user bynot vibrating when moving the thumb between approximately 2.3 and 2.7,the neutral zone 56 on the ramp frequency curve. This is analogous tothe self centering springs in a joy stick.

The overall level of vibration amplitude or intensity is useradjustable, as a compromise between user comfort and battery life.

FIG. 4 shows one embodiment of the touchscreen 28 on a tablet. Thetouchscreen 28 provides a history trace 16. The history trace 16 may beadapted to electronically represent on the touchscreen 28 a short timehistory of mean audience response, averaged over the last severalseconds, to account for latency of various broadcast systems andaudience response. The history trace 16 may reside in a layer on top ofprogram content 22 without background, so as not to obscure the programcontent 22 in this embodiment, a news/opinion interview. The primaryvalue of trace 16 is for reference, as it scrolls from left to right. Atthe end of the display period (e. g. one minute), past historydisappears off the left edge of the screen and trace 16 continues toscroll.

The touchscreen 28 may provide an audience average 18. The audienceaverage 18 may be adapted to electronically represent on the touchscreen28 a numeric value of the current mean audience output (indicated as3.5). Ideally, it should move up and down as the mean changes, and isdisplayed over program content 22, without background.

The touchscreen 28 may provide a NOT LIVE indicator 26. The NOT LIVEindicator 26 may be adapted to electronically represent on thetouchscreen 28 an indication that the user 30 is not synchronized withthe live broadcast and is viewing the program in a delayed mode; forexample, when the NOT LIVE indicator 26 is ON. Out-of-sync viewer inputis not be allowed.

The user output 36 (indicated as 3.7 and 1.5) is the numeric display ofthe user's precise current rating. In this embodiment, it is displayednext to the contact point between the user's input element 32 (orfinger) and the touchscreen 28, and follows the thumb as it is moved upand down on touchscreen. In some embodiments, after the input element 32is lifted from the touchscreen, the display lingers but fades during theperiod of time allowed by the “send again” feature (e. g. 5 sec).

FIG. 4 also shows the Yes and No buttons, items 12 and 14, respectively.These are activated as needed by the content provider, in lieu of theslide switch. FIG. 4 also shows the text message box 24, which may beused to give instructions like the content providers address, pollingquestions, or other information. The TQ button 58, the product's logo,serves as a toggle switch to return the device to normal operation,outside the application.

The touchscreen 28 may provide a dynamic distribution 20. The dynamicdistribution 20 may be an array positioned along an edge of thetouchscreen 28. The dynamic distribution 20 may be adapted to displayseach individual user's input as it is received, distributed along therating scale. This technique is traditionally used to illuminate anissue on which there is a large disparity of opinion. In this case, thedisplay shows iterative values in that individuals may view the audienceopinion, evaluate it, input data (vote) again, and then view thecombined results moments later.

The indicator “lights” that comprise the dynamic distribution 20, turnON and sustain in response to user input. The lights slowly fade to off,to maintain visibility. Due to latency in the system, a smoothingfunction may be required for clarity of graphics. To retain sufficientdata for analysis, given reasonable storage capabilities, rate of changeof input should be used to trigger storage of important “snapshots” intime.

FIGS. 5 and 6 demonstrate the analytical value of the dynamicdistribution 20. The two figures depict answers to different questions,though the audience average 18 may be the same for both (indicated as3.2). In FIG. 5, a large portion of the audience is positive, many don'tcare and only a few are negative. FIG. 6 illustrates a bimodaldistribution where many agree and disagree, and few are neutral.Clearly, the distribution is much more informative than the averagealone.

In addition to its research value, the dynamic distribution 20theatrically rewards users by displaying user input as “sparklinglights”, as user's assume credit for individual data points, despite thereality of latency. The Send Again feature reinforces the reward.

FIG. 7 illustrates the appearance when the display is saturated, i. e.the volume of incoming data exceeds the accommodation of the displayfield bounded by the invisible border 34. At first contact with thefield border 34, an individual data row increases in brightness, andcontinues to brighten with increasing data overload. Eventually, dataexplode past the display field 34 and into the broadcast content 22. Theresult is intended to look like a shower of fireworks a furthertheatrical reward. Since input volume is expected to vary dramaticallyfrom broadcast to broadcast, human intervention is required initially.In fact, volume may have to be amplified for low volume inputbroadcasts. Automatic level control to be added in a future embodiment.

Thus far, the system has accommodated a large audience's opinions,increased granularity beyond simple yes/no responses, and introduced amethod of display enabling iterative input and real-time analysis. Italso allows basic conversation, in that questions may be posed verballyor in the text box 24, and simple audience responses discussed. Toenable a true, nuanced conversation with a mass audience, to gauge theirattitude or ambiance, a wordcloud 54 is employed. FIG. 8 depicts asample wordcloud 54.

Wordcloud 54 may be simply a graphical representation for ranking inputtext message responses by frequency. The greater the frequency, thelarger the font, the more prominent the placement of the text on thewordcloud map. When the content provider requests wordcloud input,participants text the word or short, familiar phrase (up to 16characters) that best describes their opinion on the subject justpresented. This elicits participant feedback without “fishing” for aparticular response, or even forethought by the host. It may also beiterative in that a participant may be allowed to view a wordcloudcreated moments earlier, send input again, and thus influence a finalresult.

To accommodate the anticipated volume, several filters may be employedto facilitate automation. In various embodiments:

1. Require each allowed entry to be offered by more than one individual,and from more than area (zip code).

2. Preclude profanity and other distasteful words and terms.

3. Curating the data as a final check to ensure exclusion ofinappropriate content before presentation.

4. Blocking troublesome participants.

When the unique wordcloud is ready for display, the conversation begins.The host may now comment on what a large audience is thinking,particularly on surprising responses. He/she may query the audiencefurther with, “What if . . . ” questions, watch the responses and queryagain. The host may introduce new evidence or argument, and even try topersuade with facial gestures, enabling true conversation.

System

Three key attributes define the system's unique utility: Live, real-timeopinion acquisition from a large audience; dynamic display of data asreceived and as opinions change; and iterative new opinion input inresponse to evaluation of currently displayed data or new broadcastinput.

When a viewer first watches a broadcast or stream using the system (hereafter called the Platform), along with the program content he/she seesthe average audience opinion of that content (FIG. 4, item18), and itsdynamic distribution 20 displayed on the edge of the screen. The shorthistory 16 may be displayed across the bottom for reference. From thesedisplays the viewer immediately knows if the program is engaging and thenature of opinion, whether of-similar-mind or diverse. If the viewerwishes to participate, he opens the application on his device 10 andtexts the address of the broadcaster, typically shown in the message box24. The device 10 is now synced to the broadcaster.

FIG. 9 shows how opinion data is transmitted to the opinion datacompiler 62 and processor 67 within the Platform 60 and controllablypassed through to the broadcaster 68. Data streams for each contentprovider are maintained separately by the Platform to accommodatepotential highvolume. User data (geographic, demographic,socio-economic) are partitioned to a separate user data compiler 64 andprocessor 66 for analysis, conditioning and distribution.

In advance, the broadcaster 68 will have downloaded the graphics displaypackage with templates 72 and their control panel 74 from the Platform.The broadcaster now receives conditioned opinion and user data streamsseparately for local processing and display. Incoming data are used toupdate the currently displayed data (old data) and overlaid on livecontent.

The display control panel 74 enables real time adjustment of displayparameters. The broadcaster 68 may monitor continuously or sample data,and display the data in different ways. Continuous monitoring could beuseful: where the broadcaster has an interest in a running opinion, e.g.evaluating a speech; or where the broadcaster wants to capture data frominactive viewers who respond only when the content catches theirattention. The send again feature may be enabled to allow anenthusiastic viewer who sees the running results and wishes to reiteratehis opinion in an attempt to influence the “final” result.

Assume an opinion/news program format where two sides of an issue arepresented. As each pundant presents their arguments, opinion data isallowed continuously and monitored by the host. When a strong userreaction is indicated by the dynamic distribution 20, or anticipatedbased on a provocative pundant statement, the host may use the controlpanel 74 to instruct the host's processor 70 to save a “snapshot” ofnear term peak or trough data for subsequent analysis. When thestatements have concluded, the host may then revisit the areas ofgreatest interest (the snapshots stored) and explain to the audiencetheir polling results using detailed user data tabulations. Thecollection of snapshots may also be automated by triggering storagebased on rate of change of input data, storing individauls' peak/troughdata and compiling it.

Each snapshot is taken (opinion data stored) over a period of timeencompassing the maximum/minimum opinion of all participants, voiced inresponse to a notable event. The intent is to capture relevant opiniondata despite system latency and delayed participant reaction, or evenhost reaction. Peak data of a particular participants data stream isdetermined and used to compile desired metric of the event e.g. mean.

If more clarity is desired, the host may ask the pundants for additionalargument and repeat the process. The host may also request a singlerating only and using the control panel 74, restrict input to one peruser. This forces participants to offer their best rating only, not oneintended to overly influence the final result as when using the sendagain feature. Now, the impact of the additional argument may beevaluated.

If the host desires even further clarity, he may employ the wordcloudfeature. Users wishing to submit wordcloud comments are subject to asecondary registration with greater scrutiny and personal data required.These are the individuals for whom a more detailed analysis is enabledincluding demographic and socioeconomic data.

Wordcloud may be deployed separately or concurrently with numericopinion data input. Like numeric opinion data, wordcloud textsubmissions are sent directly to the broadcaster for local compilation,while user (personal) data is retained on the Platform compiler 64 anddistributed to broadcasters separately.

Wordcloud submissions enable fresh unsolicited viewer commentary. Justas with usage of the numeric rating system facilitated through the slideswitch, wordcloud enables high volume dynamic and iterative input. Usingthe control panel 74, the host may allow wordcloud input during the liveprogram, or at its end before a commercial break. A newly formulatedwordcloud may be presented to the audience when programming resumes. Or,the wordcloud itself may be the live program where participants areallowed to view the wordcloud as it is being updated in real time andvote (text) their agreement with comments submitted by others toreinforce their prominence, or add new comments. And, as with thenumeric rating system, enthusiastic viewers may try to influence theresult using the send again concept. In this case however, viewers wouldbe required to retype text input, or use a “copy” tool before resending.

After hearing discussion of issues an audience of perhaps thousands isenabled to voice their opinion in their own words, not anecdotally butin a consolidated form. Thus, conversation is achieved.

System registration is via free application downloaded to a smartphoneor tablet, initially requiring only an e-mail address and a postal zipcode for permission to output numeric data using the slide switch. Textmessage submission for wordcloud requires additional user data andsecurity measures including two factor authentication. This isjustifiable based on the participants access to a nationally broadcasttelevision signal, or live streamed internet content.

A broadcaster using the system, broadcasts the content along with thebasic display and the address to which the viewer should “tune” toparticipate and to sync to the broadcaster. Automatic tune and syncshould not be difficult to develop and incorporate, in the near future.

The user interface device is capable of single-handed operation, eitherleft or right. It also does not interfere with or interrupt the audio orvisual aspects of the streamed program being watched by participant 30.Users may also watch the program on a separate display or television,while using the system software as a user interface for only inputtingopinion data (as shown in FIG. 4, without content), or they may watchthe program on the same devices as they input their opinion (FIG. 4).

It is anticipated that participants may be distracted, but would like tore-engage immediately upon return. Or they may not view contentcontinuously and only listen, but would like to respond immediatelyafter hearing a particular comment. For these reasons, the system shouldremain connected and “on top”, for quick input. Additionally,participants may tune away (change channels) during a commercial, andwish to re-engage immediately upon return. This must be accommodated.

The computer-based data processing system and method described above isfor purposes of example only, and may be implemented in any type ofcomputer system or programming or processing environment, or in acomputer program, alone or in conjunction with hardware. The presentinvention may also be implemented in software stored on acomputer-readable medium and executed as a computer program on a generalpurpose or special purpose computer. For clarity, only those aspects ofthe system germane to the invention are described, and product detailswell known in the art are omitted. For the same reason, the computerhardware is not described in further detail. It should thus beunderstood that the invention is not limited to any specific computerlanguage, program, or computer. It is further contemplated that thepresent invention may be run on a stand-alone computer system, or may berun from a server computer system that can be accessed by a plurality ofclient computer systems interconnected over an intranet network, or thatis accessible to clients over the Internet. In addition, manyembodiments of the present invention have application to a wide range ofindustries. To the extent the present application discloses a system,the method implemented by that system, as well as software stored on acomputer-readable medium and executed as a computer program to performthe method on a general purpose or special purpose computer, are withinthe scope of the present invention. Further, to the extent the presentapplication discloses a method, a system of apparatuses configured toimplement the method are within the scope of the present invention.

Although the invention has been described with reference to embodimentsherein, those embodiments do not limit the invention. Modifications tothose embodiments or other embodiments may fall within the scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for on-demand live opinion polling,comprising: a host platform; a program content with a timestamp providedby the host platform; at least one graphical user interface coupled tothe host platform, each graphical user interface comprising: a text boxfor inputting a text message; a representation of the program content;and a graphical frequency ranking of the text messages of each of the atleast one graphical user interface; and an opinion data compilerprovided by the host platform, wherein the opinion data compiler isconfigured to in real time (a) collect said text messages, (b) composesaid graphical frequency ranking map therefrom, and (c) synchronize saidgraphical frequency ranking with the program content based in part onits respective timestamp, whereby said graphical frequency ranking is areal time and iterative synthesis of said text messages.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein the graphical frequency ranking comprises agraphical representation of said text messages by frequency, wherein thegreater the frequency, the larger the font and the more prominent theplacement of the respective text message on the graphical frequencyranking.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the graphical frequencyranking comprises a wordcloud.
 4. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising a transmitter provided by the host platform, wherein thetransmitter transmits said text messages collected by said opinion datacompiler to a third party.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the thirdparty is a broadcaster.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein each graphicaluser interface is generated via software executing on an electronicdevice.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the opinion data compilerapplies at least one filter to said text messages.
 8. The system ofclaim 7, wherein the at least one filter precludes profanity.
 9. Asystem for on-demand live opinion polling, comprising: a host platform;a program content with a timestamp provided by the host platform; atleast one graphical user interface coupled to the host platform, whereineach graphical user interface is generated via software executing on anelectronic device, each graphical user interface comprising: a text boxfor inputting a text message; a representation of the program content;and a graphical frequency ranking comprised of the text messages of eachof the at least one graphical user interface; an opinion data compilerprovided by the host platform, wherein the opinion data compiler isconfigured to in real time (a) collect said text messages, (b) composesaid graphical frequency ranking map therefrom, and (c) synchronize saidgraphical frequency ranking with the program content based in part onits respective timestamp, wherein said graphical frequency rankingcomprises a graphical representation ranking of said text messages byfrequency, wherein the greater the frequency, the larger the font andthe more prominent the placement of the respective text message on saidgraphical frequency ranking, wherein the opinion data compiler appliesat least one filter to said text messages; and a transmitter provided bythe host platform, wherein the transmitter transmits said text messagescollected by said opinion data compiler to a third party.